The Time Ladies
by kshadow
Summary: The adventures of Rose and the Doctor after Journey's End. End of Season 4- Season ? AU Female!Doctor Rose/Doctor/River Femslash
1. The Eleventh Hour I

**So, this is the brainchild of me and my friend, as we somehow thought Female!Doctor in a relationship with both Rose and River was a good idea.**

**For the purpose of this story, assume that there was no Metacrisis Doctor. How Stolen Earth/Journey's End played out can be up to the reader, but may be clarified later on in this story.**

**VERY IMPORTANT! THE DOCTOR IS FEMALE! YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY. THE DOCTOR IS FEMALE.**

**For the real life Rose in my life, who was the first to hear of my idea. You're the best.**

The Tardis was crashing. Rose clung onto the rails of surrounding the console as fires lit the room, watching the Doctor, a newly regenerated Doctor, who also happened to be her fiancé, but that was a matter for another time, piloted their Tardis, trying to give them a safe landing.

Had she been alone, Rose knew the Doctor would not put forth this much effort into not crashing, especially after a regeneration, but her beloved Rose was on board, and she knew the Doctor would do anything in her power to prevent Rose from being harmed.

Rose laughed joyously as they landed, the Tardis tipping over and sending them flying through the halls, until, with a splash, they landed in the swimming pool, which they had recently found in the library.

"Are you okay, Rose?"

"Fine!" The formally human girl replied, spitting water out of her mouth.

"Excellent!"

Rose wasn't entirely sure how they got out of the overturned Tardis, but, next thing she knew, she was standing next to the new Doctor in a garden, a wide mouthed little girl, around age eight, standing in front of them.

"Do you have any apples?" The Doctor said in place of a greeting. "I love apples."

The girl's jaw dropped even further as Rose laughed joyously.

The Doctor spat out the bite of apple. "Apples are rubbish! I hate apples!" She exclaimed, sending Rose into hysterics.

Beans, bacon, The Doctor tried all sorts of food while the girl, who had introduced herself as Amelia, and Rose watched, the latter finding the whole process rather amusing.

Finally, the Doctor stood from the table, and began rummaging through the fridge and freezer before finally letting out a noise of satisfaction as she revealed her pickings: fish fingers and custard.

Amelia watched with disgust as the Doctor ate the food, occasionally offering Rose a bite, who enjoyed the meal as much as her lover.

"Regeneration is tricky business," the blond girl explained to their young new friend as the Doctor drank the last of the custard. "You never know what you're going to end up with. She desperately wants to be ginger, and this is her third body since I've met her. Still hasn't happened yet. But there's a whole new set of likes and dislikes. She's trying to figure out what they are."

Amelia stared at the Doctor and Rose. "Are you here about the crack in my wall?"

All traces of mirth disappeared from the two time travelers, replaced by utmost seriousness.

"What crack?" The Doctor asked, exchanging looks with Rose.

The Doctor stood back as Rose examined the crack with her pink sonic screwdriver, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Practically making me sick, this is," she proclaimed.

"What is it?" Amelia asked, tugging on the sleeve of Rose's leather jacket, which had once belonged to the Doctor, two regenerations ago. Rose was already planning on stealing one of the ties the Doctor had worn in the previous regeneration, a memento of sorts, her way of remembering the woman she had been, while loving the woman she was now.

"Two pieces of Time and Space that never should have touched," the Doctor exclaimed, stepping forward to peer at the crack. "Now, if I can just, aha!"

The crack widened, and a giant eye peered through the crack at the trio, who all instinctively took a step back. "Prisoner Zero has escaped," a voice sounded in the heads of Rose and the Doctor, before the crack thinned once more, before disappearing altogether.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Rose quoted, the Doctor flashing her a grin.

The cloister bells of the Tardis began ringing, and the two time travelers grinned once more.

"Give us five minutes!" The Doctor promised Amelia before racing from the room.

Rose knelt in front of Amelia. "Amelia, promise me something."

"What?" Amelia asked.

"Don't give up on her, on us. The Doctor once told me that it had been twelve hours, when, in reality, it had been twelve months. Time is funny business to a time traveler. But, Amelia, I promise we will be back. No matter how long it takes, we'll be back. Please wait, but know that it could take a little while."

Amelia nodded, before surprising Rose with a tight hug. "Hurry," the child whispered.

"We'll try," Rose promised, before departing for the Tardis.

**So, new story. I'm on a roll with new stories this month.**

**So, to summarize. Rose isn't human anymore. I wonder what she could be! The Metacrisis never happened, I'm sure that how they got out of that mess will be explained in more detail soon. Rose elected to continue traveling with the Doctor at the end of Journey's End, the Doctor proposing to Rose sometime before regenerating. Amelia knows that she'll be waiting longer than five minutes for the Doctor, and the crack in the bedroom is gone. **

**Want to know what's going to happen next? So do I!**

**Geronimo!**

**Kshadow**


	2. The Eleventh Hour II

The Doctor rushed out of the Tardis, followed by Rose, who held her back as she made to burst into Amelia's house.

"That's rude! And we don't even know if she still lives her, love!" Rose chastised the Doctor, who looked away sheepishly, before running a hand through her long brown hair.

"That's me! Rude and not ginger!" The Doctor grinned at her lover. "But I figured it out!" She protested as Rose knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing a redheaded woman, who stared at the couple in disbelief. "Rose? Doctor?"

"Amelia?" Rose checked, the woman who was a little girl just minutes ago smiling at them.

"I go by Amy now," she informed the Doctor and Rose, before accepting a hug from Rose, before glaring at the Doctor. "Five minutes, she says. Five minutes! If it weren't for Rose's warning, I would have given up on you two!"

The Doctor winced. "How long were we?"

"Twelve years," Amelia, no, Amy, answered.

"Right! Amy, I figured it out!"

"She hasn't told me what she figured out," Rose muttered to Amy as they followed the Doctor up the stairs.

"Alright! Amy, count the doors on this landing."

Amy glanced around, before answering confidently. "Five."

"No," Rose realized. "There's six."

All three turned to stare at the sixth door, Amy's eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"But, that's not right. I've lived here my whole life, there's always been five."

"Perception field?" Rose guessed, getting a nod from the Doctor.

"What do you think is behind it?" Amy asked as the trio crept closer to the door, sonic screwdrivers appearing in Rose and the Doctor's hands.

"Prisoner Zero?" Rose suggested lightly.

The door's lock clicked open, and the Doctor opened the door, peering into the room cautiously.

Amy screamed as a monster appearing in the doorway, and they all leapt backward, watching as Prisoner Zero changed shapes until he was a man with a dog.

"A bit less scary," Rose muttered, before watching as the man bared long, thin teeth, similar to a snake's fangs, except that he had a mouthful of them.

The Doctor grinned. "Really? And nice tie, by the way."

Rose grinned back. "I thought you'd like it."

"Right," the Doctor said as Amy coughed. "A conversation for another time. Run!"

The Doctor and Rose held hands as they ran from the house and down the street, Amy Pond at their side as they ran.

"What was that thing?" Amy asked.

"Prisoner Zero. Keep up, Pond," the Doctor replied, glancing around. "But what's it doing here? Why your house?"

"Doctor? Something is happening," Rose interrupted the Doctor's mutterings, staring into the sky.

"Ah! The Atraxi!" The Doctor exclaimed as a message was broadcasted through what sounded like every electronic system in the town, a warning from the Atraxi to the inhabitants of Earth.

"The human residence is surrounded. Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence, or the human residence will be incinerated."

Amy's jaw dropped. "They'd incinerate the planet? Just for one escaped prisoner?"

"At least they have a reason other than just wanting to destroy the planet," Rose mumbled. "So, Amy, do you have a boyfriend?" Rose asked as the Doctor paced back and forth, tugging at her hair while mumbling to herself.

Amy smiled. "Rory Williams. He's a nurse at the hospital," she replied, ignoring the Doctor's chants of "Think! Think!"

"You've got a nurse, I've got a Doctor," Rose mused.

"She's not a real Doctor, is she?"

"No, that's just the title she chose. She's actually a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey."

"Where's that?" Amy asked innocently.

"Right!" The Doctor shouted before sprinting off, running into the first house she encountered, Amy throwing a nonchalant Rose a disbelieving look as the two followed.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Angelo, Jeff." Amy greeted her friend and friend's grandmother as the Doctor began to examine the T.V. and stereo with her sonic screwdriver, Rose doing the same with hers.

"You two look familiar," the old woman announced, narrowing her eyes at the two strangely familiar women.

"Nope. New face," The Doctor disregarded her words, returning to her work, before straightening with a look of panic.

"It's all over the planet," the two women exclaimed.

"What is?" Amy asked.

"The message!" The Doctor said, leaving Rose to explain.

"The message is being broadcasted all over the world," Rose continued. "Meaning that the Atraxi consider the whole world to be the human residence. They aren't going to incinerate the town, they're going to burn the whole planet!"

"They'll need about twenty minutes," the Doctor deduced, Rose nodding in agreement.

"Twenty minutes for what?" Amy asked, Rose and the Doctor frowning grimly.

"The end of the world," the Doctor said.

"I know where I've seen you two before," Jeff announced. "You're the raggedy woman and her Rose from her drawings."

Both the Doctor and Rose fell silently, turning to look at a blushing Amy with raised eyebrows.

"End of the world?" Amy prompted, trying to ignore her red cheeks.

The Doctor and Rose stared at Amy for a moment longer, before nodding, and rushing outside.

"Why is there a duck pond without ducks?" The Doctor asked as Rose and Amy caught up with her.

"Is that important?" Amy asked.

"No. What is important is that this place has no helpful technology!" The Doctor complained, pulling at her wavy brown hair, before convulsing, falling to the ground. "No! It's too early, I'm not ready!" She choked out, Rose kneeling beside her, stroking her hair, waiting for her to recollect herself.

"Better, love?" Rose asked as the Doctor stopped convulsing on the ground, before helping the Time Lady off the ground, brushing grass off her loose suit.

Suddenly, everything was cast into darkness. Rose looked up, groaning, as did the Doctor, at the force field that was presumably surrounding all of earth to prepare it for incineration.

Then, something odd caught the Doctor's eye. A man in nursing scrubs taking pictures, but not of the shadowed sun, but of a man and his dog, an oddly familiar man and his dog, for the Doctor, Rose, and Amy had encountered the pair once before, as Prisoner Zero.

"Rory!" Amy called once she had noticed who the Doctor was staring at, before rushing to her boyfriend, Rose and the Doctor quickly following her.

"This is Rory, my sort of boyfriend," Amy introduced the man, but the Doctor couldn't seemingly care less.

"Why were you taking pictures of a man and his dog when the earth is currently shrouded in a force field? Why?" The Doctor demanded.

"But she's…that's," Rory stuttered, his eyes flickering in between Rose and the Doctor.

"Rory!" Amy shook her head. "Not now. Answer the question."

"Because it's impossible. That man is in a coma," Rory answered hesitantly, offering the response Rose and the Doctor had expected.

"Of course!" Rose exclaimed as the Doctor explained what was going on.

"A coma patient is perfect. Prisoner Zero needs living minds, but they need to be dormant. A comatose human is the perfect disguise."

The group now consisting of four people made their way over to the disguised Prisoner Zero, the Doctor and Rose holding up their sonic screwdrivers.

"They're looking for alien technology," the Doctor said as an Atraxi ship flied over their heads. "And nothing says alien like a sonic screwdriver!"

A streetlamps began breaking as Rose and the Doctor pointed their sonic screwdrivers at the sky, a mobility scooter flying over their heads, car alarms sounding, before both sonic screwdrivers, which had been damaged by the explosive regeneration and the resulting crash of the Tardis, sparked, before fizzling and dying.

Rose and the Doctor turned to each other with identical looks of desperation. "My sonic screwdriver!" They both cried, cradling the metal remains of the tools in their hands.

The Atraxi flew off, and as the quartet turned back to Prisoner Zero, they caught a glimpse of him, it, escaping into the sewers.

"Rose! Take Amy and Rory and go to the hospital!"

The Doctor sprinted across the park, bursting back into Jeff's house, hurrying up to Jeff's room, fighting the man for his laptop, finally winning the battle.

The Doctor made a noise of disgust as she saw what Jeff was doing on his laptop, before her fingers danced across the keyboard, typing in commands, until she hacked into the meeting of scientists, rattling off a bunch of complicated theories and formulas in greeting.

"Right," she said, motioning for Rory to hand over his phone, which contained pictures of all the comatose patients at the hospital, all the forms Prisoner Zero could take. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm uploading a virus now, and you need to broadcast it all over the world. Jeff, make sure it happens."

The Doctor ran from the room, before returning, poking her head through the doorway. "And erase your browser history!" She advised.

Rory's phone buzzed in the Doctor's hand, and she recognized the message as being from Rose's cell phone, the message reading: Prisoner Zero here.

Rose's phone vibrated, and she read the message from her lover. DUCK, it read.

Rose pulled Amy and Rory down with her as she crouched down, a window shattering as the ladder of a fire truck broke through the glass, the Doctor following a few moments later.

"Prisoner Zero!" The Doctor said to the woman the monster was currently using as a disguise. "It's over; reveal yourself, and leave here alive."

Rose grinned as the clock changed to say a single word: Zero. The Doctor had worked her magic once again, not that Rose had ever doubted the woman she loved. She would never doubt her Doctor.

"The Atraxi know you're here," the Doctor continued. "It's no use."

Prisoner Zero hissed, before revealing its final play. "I still have one form left!" The monster lunged at Amy, knocking her unconscious with a single blow to the head, before turning into a form that struck the hearts belonging to Rose and the Doctor. The form was of little Amelia Pond, Rose holding her hand, standing on her right side, the Doctor on her other side, holding her left hand.

A single thought ran through the two time travelers' heads. _She never stopped waiting for us, _they realized, a pang of guilt hitting each of them. Wasn't Rose the one who had asked Amelia not to give up on them? Hadn't the Doctor promised Amelia five minutes, when, in reality, it had been a twelve year wait?

"Amy," Rose began, praying to whoever might hear her that this would work. "Amelia, listen to me. Remember the monster in the house?" Prisoner Zero's form flickered, and the Doctor continued Rose's promptings.

"Amelia, remember Prisoner Zero. Force it back into its true form. Amy, I know you can do it!" The Doctor urged.

A beam of light surrounded the monster as it returned to its original form, a giant eye peering in through the window.

"Silence will fall!" Prisoner Zero hissed before disappearing, taken away by its Atraxi wardens.

Amy awoke with a gasp, rubbing her head gingerly. "Ow," she muttered, before standing up, following the Doctor through the halls of the hospital. "What are you doing?"

"Delivering a warning," Rose answered in the Doctor's place.

As they made their way through the locker room, the Doctor gazed around, a glint appearing in her green eyes.

The Doctor began stripping, Rory and Amy averting their gazed politely while Rose grinned lecherously at her naked lover, who held up several blouses up to herself, silently asking for Rose's opinion.

"Go with the white one," Rose advised, the Doctor discarding the other shirts before pulling on a slim pair of black jeans, grapping a deep purple blazer off a shelf.

The quartet made their way up to the roof, the Doctor continuing to dress herself as they made their way to the roof, where the Atraxi ship the Doctor had called back earlier was waiting for them.

"Come on then! The Doctor will see you now!" She called.

The eyeball zoomed down, scanning the Doctor. "You are not of this world," a deep voice announced as the Doctor pulled on a pair of red suspenders.

"No, but I've put a lot of this work into it," the Doctor replied as she examined ties, before tossing the unchosen ones to Rory.

"Is this world important?"

"Important?" The Doctor spluttered. "Six billion people live here! No, a better question would be is this world a threat to the Atraxi?"

The Doctor bent down tying the laces of her combat boots while watching the projected images of events of earth flashed by, before standing up as the Atraxi answered.

"No."

"Are the people of this world guilty of any laws according to the laws of the Atraxi?"

More images were projected, before the Atraxi repeated its previous answer. "No."

"One last question. Just one. Is this world protected?" Images of previous invaders began flashing as the Doctor continued, tying a bright red bowtie around her slim neck. "Now ask yourself, what happened to them?"

The Doctor took several steps back, pulling Rose to her side after stuffing her arms through the sleeves of the purple blazer. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and this is my Rose. Basically, run."

And at those words, the Atraxi fled.

The keys of the Tardis around the necks of Rose and the Doctor began to heat up, and they grinned at each other, before running away, leaving Amy and Rory to stare at them bewilderly.

"Alright, old girl," Rose said, the Doctor gesturing for her to go first. "Let's see what you've got for us."

"Perfect!" The Doctor exclaimed, spinning in a circle so that she could take in the full view of the console room. "Now, I believe we have someone to pick up, don't you agree, Rose?"

Rose grinned. "Absolutely."

The Doctor and Rose danced around the console, until the Tardis rematerialized in the garden of one Amy Pond. The girl herself came bursting through the door after a moment, gaping slightly at them.

"Oh, no," Rose muttered. "How long has it been?"

"Two years," Amy answered shortly.

"Amy Pond, the girl who waited. I think you've waited long enough," the Doctor announced, before opening both doors of the Tardis wide. "Would you care for a journey through Time and Space?"

Amy glanced between the two women, before grinning and nodding. "But I need to be back tomorrow," she warned them as she entered the Tardis, gaping in disbelief. "How?"

The doors of the Tardis closed, leaving Amy the only one in the time machine who knew of the white gown hanging beside the childish drawing of a raggedy woman and her Rose.


	3. The Beast Below I

"Do you want to change?" Rose asked Amy as the Tardis hurdled through the Time Vortex.

"Do you have anything for me to wear?" Amy asked, throwing suspicious glances at the Doctor, mainly her bowtie. "And what's with the bow tie?"

"Hey!" The Doctor protested loudly, looking up from the Tardis console. "Bow ties are cool!"

Rose laughed, tugging on her own tie, a purple one worn by the Doctor's last regeneration. "Whatever you say, love," she said patronizingly.

Amy stifled a giggle as she followed Rose through the halls of the Tardis, until they entered the giant wardrobe room, Amy's mouth falling open at the sight of all the clothes.

"Before I leave you alone to change, let me give you a few tips to being on the Tardis and traveling with the Doctor and I," Rose began. "First of all, no matter how much we look like it, neither the Doctor nor I are human. Don't forget that. Second, the Tardis is alive, and she is a she. She has feelings, if you understand that, and respect her as another living being, she'll treat you better. That's about it."

Rose turned to leave, but Amy's voice stopped her. "Rose? What exactly is yours and the Doctor's relationship? How did you end up with her?"

Rose smiled, though there was a hint of sadness in it. "I'm her fiancé. She found me when I was a simple shop girl, and took me to the stars. I saw the end of the world with her for our first date. And the rest of the story will have to wait, dear Amy, until I am ready to share the rest."

And with that, Rose left the room, leaving Amy to ponder her words.

Amy reemerged several minutes later, wearing a jean skirt over a pair of colored tights, and a tank top and jacket.

"Wonderful. You're more likely to blend in more than if you had been wearing your night dress."

"Where are we going?" Amy asked, as they reentered the console Room, where the Doctor was waiting, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Why don't you look and see?" The Doctor suggested with a grin identical to the one on Rose's face. The Doctor loved this part, loved seeing a new companion realize they had just traveled through Time and Space for the first time.

Amy rushed to the door, but stopped before opening, glancing back at Rose and the Doctor, who both nodded.

Amy threw open the door, glancing around in shock. "Where are we?"

"The Starship UK, in the year 2935," Rose answered promptly, having read the coordinates the Tardis has displayed on the screen.

"Starship UK?"

"In the 29th century," the Doctor began to explain. "Solar flares burned the surface of the earth, forcing your people to flee to the stars. It's the same Britain, only metal. Now, one rule. We do not interfere. We can observe, but we can't change things."

Rose snorted, smiling innocently when the Doctor threw her a glance.

"I've been dead for centuries," Amy realized.

"Morbid, aren't you?" Rose said lightly, placing a comforting hand on Amy's shoulder, having recalled saying something similar on her first trip.

"Notice everything," the Doctor encouraged. "Secrets, shadows, lives lived in fear. And you've figured it out!" She exclaimed cheerfully as Rose took a glass of water off a nearby table, placing it on the floor, watching the motionless, before returning it to the table. "Escaped fish, you know," she said seriously to the couple seated at the table.

"This is a police state, government controls everything," the Doctor said as they made their way through London Market.

"Doctor," Rose said, drawing her lover's attention with a gentle touch. "Look."

As a general rule, neither Rose nor the Doctor could bear to see a crying child, which many attributed to buried maternal instincts.

"Curious," the Doctor commented.

"What's curious?" Amy asked.

"When a child cries, it's because they are either hurt or want attention. When a child cries silently, it's because they can't stop."

"Why don't you talk to her, Amy? Find out what's wrong," Rose suggested, exchanging a look with the Doctor.

"Me?" The Scottish girl asked.

"It's either this or Leadworth," the Doctor replied, naming the town where Amy lived. "As for us," the Doctor answered Amy's unasked question. "We are going to make a very bad attempt at staying out of trouble."

Amy smiled. "Do you always interfere when you see a crying child?"

Rose and the Doctor both grinned, confirming Amy's suspicions.

"Engine room, love?" Rose guessed, linking arms with the Doctor as Amy walked towards the crying girl.

"Of course. Dame Rose, would you care to accompany me?"

"Why, Dame Doctor, it would be my sincere pleasure."

"No engines are on," the Doctor commented, gazing around.

"Then how are we in orbit?"

"I'm wondering the same thing." A masked woman stepped out of the shadows, her dark eyes peering at Rose and the Doctor from behind the mask, before settling on Rose. "Why did you put the glass of water on the ground?"

"Well, ship this size, engines ought to cause some sort of disturbance. But there isn't any," the blonde girl answered.

"It's like there aren't any engines at all," the Doctor said.

The masked woman handed the duo a device. "This will lead you to your friend," she promised.

"Who are you?" Rose asked.

"How do we find you?"

"I'm Liz Ten. And I find you." With those parting words, the woman disappeared.

Using the device, the Doctor and Rose quickly made their way to Amy's location, a booth at which the crying girl from earlier was waiting beside.

"What's your name?" Rose asked as the Doctor sonicked open the door with her new sonic screwdriver, this one green instead of blue.

"Mandy," the girl answered.

"What's going on?"

"Anyone over sixteen can enter the booth once every five years," Mandy answered.

The door opened, and Rose and the Doctor entered the booth, leaving Mandy waiting outside.

The Doctor began to scan the booth. "The lamp, it made you forget the last twenty minutes. You choose to forget, correct?"

Amy nodded. "I assume so."

"Democracy in action," Rose grinned, realizing what the Doctor was about to do.

"Well, we're about to bring down the government," the Doctor announced, slamming her fist against the protest button, the floor beneath their feet opening up, sending them plummeting into the unknown.


	4. The Beast Below II

SQUELCH!

"Ugh," Rose commented, taking in the wasted food swimming around their feet, helping the Doctor off the floor, before turning to Amy and doing the same. "Doctor, can't you take me somewhere nice for a change?"

"I take you plenty of nice places," the Doctor immediately protested. "New Earth ring any bells?"

"I got possessed by a bitchy trampoline," Rose reminded her.

"What about Barcelona?"

"Still haven't taken me there," Rose sang.

"Doctor, Rose?" Amy said hesitantly. "Why is there only food waste in here?"

Rose's eyes flickered down recalling the noise they had made when they had landed. That squelching noise, Rose had bad feeling about this.

Beside Rose, the Doctor paled as well, and a quick scan with the new sonic screwdriver proved what they were all thinking. They were inside the mouth of some creature. A big creature.

"Well, we can just," Amy began walking towards the row of teeth.

"Amy, no!" The Doctor called, pointing the sonic screwdriver in the direction of the creature's throat, causing them to, well, Rose wasn't entirely sure what happened, she only knew that they were no longer in the creature's mouth, and were covered in sick. From that, she had a pretty good idea what had happened.

"Is this sick?"

"I had to get us out somehow," the Doctor said unapologetically. "Oh, they really want us to press forget," the Doctor said, pointing at the forget button at the end of the corridor, a Smiler booth on either side of the button.

"Are we going to?" Amy asked. "I think it might be the only way back up to the ship."

Rose and the Doctor both cracked identical grins. "Nope," they chorused, popping the 'p'.

The heads of the Smilers rotated, becoming angry, and they stepped out of their booths.

"That's not good," Rose said as the two Smilers approached the trio of time travelers.

The door slid open, and a dark skinned woman entered the room, shooting both Smilers with the gun she held in her hand.

"Liz Ten, lovely to see you again," the Doctor said cheerfully, stepping over the body of one of the Smilers. "How did you find us?"

"The device I gave you allowed me to track you. I heard everything you did through it. Besides, you're a bit hard to miss., Mysterious Stranger M.O.; intelligence of higher alien life forms, and a ridiculous bow tie."

"Hey!" The Doctor immediately protested, causing Amy to roll her eyes. "Bow ties are cool."

"Besides, I'm not exactly unfamiliar with your adventures concerning my family. She's old drinking buddies with Henry 12, Vicky knighted and exiled her on the same day, and tea and scones with Liz 2. And so much for the 'Virgin Queen', you bad, bad girls!" Liz Ten laughed at Amy's bemused expression, Rose holding back a grin.

"Liz Ten! Elizabeth the Tenth!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"Duck!" Liz Ten shouted, shooting down more Smilers. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

"How long have you been waiting to say that to someone?" Rose asked, her tongue poking out from behind her teeth as she grinned.

Liz Ten didn't answer, but her answering grin told Rose everything she wanted to know.

Rose's grin faded as she spotted a something resembling a root protruding from the ground, pounding against a barred opening.

"Doctor," she said hesitantly.

The Doctor quickly scanned the root, before confirming their suspicions. The root thing belonged to the creature whose mouth they had just been in. "It's reaching out," the Doctor announced.

"Is it an infestation?" Liz Ten asked.

"I'm not sure," the Doctor answered.

"But my people are being fed to it?" Liz Ten said, getting a sad nod in confirmation.

"There's a high speed vator to my quarters nearby," Liz Ten said as they approached the end of the corridor.

In the quarters of Liz Ten, the Queen was explaining a bit of why she was following them as Amy fixed her hair in the mirror.

"I've been investigating the creature ever since I came to the Throne ten years ago, when I was forty."

"You don't look fifty," Amy commented.

"I had the aging process slowed down, have to keep looking like the stamps, don't I?" Liz Ten said. "With everyone knowing who I am, I wear this mask."

"Can I see that mask?" The Doctor asked, accepting it as the Queen handed it to him.

"Air balanced porcelain," Rose said. "Must have been made to fit your face."

"But it's over two hundred years old," the Doctor pointed out.

Before anyone could speak, two hooded men entered the quarters, Liz Ten immediately protesting their presence.

"You must come with us immediately."

Liz Ten narrowed her eyes. "Like hell I am."

The two men frowned, their heads rotating to reveal their angry Smiler faces.

"I'm still your Queen," Liz Ten said harshly.

"Yes," the beings replied. "But on highest authority, you must come to the Tower of London."

"They're called Winders," Liz explained as they followed the two Winders into the bowels of the ship. "Half human, half Smiler. They're in charge of keeping the peace on Starship UK."

"Hawthorne," Liz Ten greeted the man who waited for them in the Tower of London.

"Liz, the creature, it isn't malevolent, it's how you're flying. This ship is constructed on its back."

"Smart woman," Hawthorne said. "How did you know?"

Rose smiled. "She guessed," before her smile disappeared as she gasped. "You're torturing it!" She realized, pointing at the laser, which was sending jolts into the pain center of the creature's brain.

"Torturing it into continuing to keep you in air," the Doctor spat, her expression morphing into one of distaste.

"You're making children work?" Amy asked harshly, watching the children move about the Tower of London.

Hawthorne sighed heavily, rubbing at his chin. "We feed protesters and citizens of limited value to the beast, but it refuses to eat children. Congratulations, you three are the first adults it has ever spared."

Liz Ten glared at Hawthorne. "I demand this creature be released at once!" She commanded.

"I'm simply obeying orders from the highest authority," Hawthorne said.

"I am the highest authority," the Queen said."

"That's what he means," Rose said softly, allowing the Doctor to explain what she meant.

"Your mask, Liz, it was crafted for your face, but it's over two hundred years old."

"What do you mean?"

"They slowed down your body clock, alright, but you're not fifty. Try closer to three hundred. You've reigned the same ten years over and over again, each time choosing to forget the truth."

Hawthorne pressed a button, and a monitor lit up, showing the unmasked face of Liz Ten, who began speaking. The recording explained that the United Kingdom had been faced with destruction, as when the solar flares began, they lacked resources to build their own starship, as the other parts of the world had done, the children screaming in pain as the world began to burn. Then, the creature had appeared, the last of the great Star Whales. They, the UK, had built the ship on the Star Whale's back, using the creature in place of an engine. Liz Ten now had two choices, she could either choose to forget, or release the Star Whale, which would kill everyone on board.

Liz Ten stared hopelessly at the laser which continued to send jolts into the Star Whale's brain.

"Humans," the Doctor spat, pointing her sonic screwdriver at the Star Whale's brain, amplifying its cries of pain for all the occupants of the room to hear.

"There's no other option," the Doctor said softly, staring into Rose's eyes.

"No," Rose argued, realizing what the Doctor was planning on suggesting. "There's always another option, you're the one who told me that."

"The Doctor lies," the Time Lady said, reaching out to stroke Rose's cheek tenderly. "You know that."

"Not to me," Rose corrected her lover.

"What option?" Amy asked, not wanting to break the tender moment between the two women, but knowing she had to.

"Mercy killing. Kill the conscious functions of its brain, keeping it afloat, but essentially dead. No more pain." The Doctor grasped Rose's hand, squeezing it tightly. "No more Doctor. I can't be the Doctor after this."

"There's always another option," Rose argued, staring not at the Doctor, but at Amy, Rose's golden eyes begging Amy to figure out what the former Londoner had already guessed.

Amy glanced away, not able to hold Rose's desperate gaze, but her eyes fell on something else. A root, the creature protruding from the ground. But the root wasn't attacking the children that were playing next to it, no, it was playing with them. And everything fell into place.

There was no time for explanations. Amy grabbed Liz Ten's hand as Rose smiled in delight, forcing the Queen to press the abdicate button, stopping the torture of the Star Whale.

"Amy, no!" The Doctor shouted as the ship shuddered.

The ship steadied, and a quick scan with the sonic screwdriver, revealed what Rose and Amy already knew. The Star Whale was still there, and moving faster than ever.

Sensing the questioning eyes on her, Amy explained her actions. "When you're very old and the last of your kind, you can't just stand there and watch children cry."

The Doctor pulled Amy into a hug, before releasing her.

The Doctor stood on the observation deck, watching the stars, Rose having already returned to the Tardis.

"Here. Liz Ten wanted us to have this," Amy said, handing the Doctor the Queen's mask. "She said there'd be no more secrets on the ship, that everyone would know how the Star Whale saved them."

"You could have been wrong. You could have killed everyone on the ship."

"Rose had faith that I would figure it out," Amy said. "Besides, the Star Whale, it's very old, very kind, and the last of its kind. Sound familiar?"

The Doctor smiled. "Rose is waiting for us."

As the Tardis began to fly away, Rose stood in the open doorway of the Tardis, staring down at the Starship UK, or, more specifically, the crack along its side, identical to the crack that had been in Amy's wall. Rose swallowed heavily, before turning away, closing the door. The Doctor would find out in due time, what the cracks were, what they meant. But not today. The time was fast approaching, and Rose could only hope they'd survive what was to come.


End file.
